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Tensor SUMMA Awardees

Announcing the 2023 Tensor SUMMA Grant Recipients

  • Project Title: MATCH: Virtual Classroom Visits by Mathematicians
  • Project Director: Javier Haro
  • Project Summary: MATCH will pair mathematicians interested in K-12 outreach with middle school classrooms serving (primarily) students historically underrepresented in mathematics via recurring “virtual classroom visits.” By collaborating with networks of minority mathematicians, the program will prioritize recruiting mathematicians from historically underrepresented groups. After participating in a professional development training workshop, each mathematician will be matched with a middle school class at a Title I school with a high proportion of minority students that they will visit virtually three times during the 2021-2022 school year. During each visit, the mathematicians will present a highly engaging, “Math Circle” style activity, and will also have the opportunity to talk about their experience as a mathematician. By increasing access to fun and creative math activities and positive mathematics role models, the project aims to improve underrepresented students’ attitudes toward mathematics, belief in their own mathematical ability, and their overall likelihood of pursuing a career in mathematics.
  • Project Title: DEEP-MATH (Discover Enjoy Explore and Practice Mathematics)
  • Project Director: Viktoria Savatorova
  • Project Summary: This project provides high school students who are members of historically underrepresented groups in the field of mathematics an opportunity to connect with CCSU faculty and students throughout the year by participating in various academic hands-on activities, competitions, and events paired with panels and speaker series. Each activity will be designed to enrich students’ knowledge and encourage the pursuit and enjoyment of mathematics. Each event will spotlight CCSU programs in mathematics, statistics, data science, and mathematics education and introduce participants to career opportunities in mathematics and mathematically intensive disciplines.
  • Project Title: Why Math? Circle
  • Project Director: Fariba Ansari
  • Project Summary: The goal of the proposal is to increase student graduation rates and enhance the analytical competence demanded by the current labor market. By focusing on higher-order thinking skills, the project would provide students with a competitive advantage in their future careers and employment. This project would also be expected to encourage more minority and female students to venture into Math and Science.
  • Project Title: Dins & Dogs-Fostering Community Connections through Authentic Math and Science Exploration
  • Project Director: Casey Hawthorne
  • Project Summary: The Dins and Dogs program will partner 15 undergraduate students from Furman University with 30 students from a local middle school. The middle school targeted is one of the lowest performing schools in the state. With such a context in mind, the program is designed around an intimate collaboration model where triads, consisting of one university student and two middle school students will meet biweekly, after school over a 6-month period to explore a unique open-ended math or science question, culminating in a public presentation. University faculty will also be assigned to each university student to support them in designing and carrying out their investigation. The program will support the participating middle school students in developing an identity as mathematicians with an appreciation of the creativity and persistence associated with engaging in authentic mathematics. In addition, the program hopes to foster an interest in teaching in the participating university students, as well as an asset perspective for a community that is often viewed through a marginalized lens.
  • Project Title: PROMYS Pathways Summer Program
  • Project Director: Li-Mei Lim
  • Project Summary: PROMYS Pathways is a comprehensive initiative to provide low-income and underrepresented pre-college students in the greater Boston area with deep mathematics enrichment. PROMYS Pathways will run a four-week summer program at Boston University for 15-20 commuter students. Problem sets in number theory and mathematical activities will be tailored, with low-threshold/high-ceiling problems, to give students of all experience levels appropriate challenges. By bringing students together on campus, working collaboratively in the classrooms, and eating together in the dining halls, students will get an introduction to college and have their eyes opened to academic possibilities available to them. The goal is to create a community where students can have a positive mathematics enrichment experience and develop the mathematical habits of mind to pursue further pathways in STEM.
  • Project Title: RHIME - Rockland-Hudson Immersive Mathematics Experience
  • Project Director: Andrew Lee
  • Project Summary: The Rockland-Hudson Immersive Mathematics Experience (RHIME) at St. Thomas Aquinas College (STAC) provides first- and second-year undergraduates from all backgrounds and majors with an opportunity to experience mathematics as it relates to their own communities. Working in groups, participants examine social and political issues through a mathematical lens, drawing on examples of interest in the NYC metro area. RHIME aims to recruit mathematics majors and minors from underrepresented groups and increase their opportunities for experiential learning in the subject. Participants are mentored both by faculty and by third- and fourth-year undergraduate project leaders, with the goal of creating a larger community of mathematics learners at STAC.
  • Project Title: Indigenous Mathematicians
  • Project Directors: Kamuela Yong
  • Project Summary: The goal of Indigenous Mathematicians is to create a community where Indigenous people who work in the field of mathematics can come together to encourage the pursuit of mathematics and provide a supportive community for mentoring Indigenous people interested in entering the field of mathematics. It also aims to inspire up-and-coming mathematicians to see themselves as full members of the mathematical community and to inspire them to continue their education and further their careers. Finally, Indigenous Mathematicians will educate the mathematical community about the work and stories of their Indigenous peers in mathematics as well as the rich, varied cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples in general.
  • Project Title: PRIME (Performing Research Increases Mathematical Empowerment)
  • Project Director: Vinodh Chellamuthu
  • Project Summary: The PRIME (Performing Research Increases Mathematical Empowerment) program is a year-long research and mentoring program to increase retention rates among underrepresented minority students by engaging them in interdisciplinary research projects coming directly from business, industry, or government agencies. PRIME scholars will participate in the "PRIME Talk Series" presented by successful mathematicians from an underrepresented minority population. PRIME scholars will help plan and execute a summer camp in mathematical modeling and act as mentors and facilitators to high school students.
  • Project Title: Café con Leche: a series of virtual talks and community building
  • Project Director: Bianca Thompson
  • Project Summary: Lathisms: Latinxs and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences will host a talk per month beginning in December 2022 and running until May 2024. Speakers in this series will provide a prerecorded research talk which will be uploaded to our Lathisms YouTube Channel (https://tinyurl.com/LathismsYouTube) a week in advance of the scheduled live/virtual “Cafe Con Leche” hour, where we will host an informal chat with speakers about their research. All Cafe Con Leche virtual hours will run from 3-4 pm Eastern.

MAA Tensor SUMMA (Strengthening Underrepresented Minority Mathematics Achievement) program supports projects designed to encourage the pursuit and enjoyment of mathematics by students who are members of groups historically underrepresented in mathematics. If you're interested in holding a Tensor SUMMA program like these, learn more here.

The Tensor Foundation also supports projects designed to encourage college and university women or high school and middle school girls to study mathematics. Learn more about MAA Tensor Women & Mathematics here.

Read About Previous Awardees

 

2022          2021          2020          2019          2018

 

2022

  • Project Title: MATCH: Virtual Classroom Visits by Mathematicians
  • Project Director: Javier Haro
  • Project Summary: MATCH will pair mathematicians interested in K-12 outreach with middle school classrooms serving (primarily) students historically underrepresented in mathematics via recurring “virtual classroom visits.” By collaborating with networks of minority mathematicians, the program will prioritize recruiting mathematicians from historically underrepresented groups. After participating in a professional development training workshop, each mathematician will be matched with a middle school class at a Title I school with a high proportion of minority students that they will visit virtually three times during the 2021-2022 school year. During each visit, the mathematicians will present a highly engaging, “Math Circle” style activity, and will also have the opportunity to talk about their experience as a mathematician. By increasing access to fun and creative math activities and positive mathematics role models, the project aims to improve underrepresented students’ attitudes toward mathematics, belief in their own mathematical ability, and their overall likelihood of pursuing a career in mathematics.
  • Project Title: The Hesabu Circle
  • Project Director: Kagba Suaray
  • Project Summary: The purpose of the project is to stimulate the enjoyment of mathematics in Black students and families by freeing the subject from the academic and cultural box it is too often bound in. We seek to increase the number of Black K-12 students that identify as "Math-Is-Me-ticians". The Hesabu Circle is a space (virtual & in-person) where black students of all ages can enter to receive affirmation of their ability and identity as doers of mathematics. The program utilizes a near-peer cascading hybrid mentorship/academic support model to train college and high school students on how to communicate mathematics as mentors/tutors. Monthly culturally relevant mathematical explorations, as well as a summer enrichment program will be offered. Black Ph.D. mathematicians, statisticians, and math educators will serve as project co-PI’s and mentor/trainers. The practical focus for in-person services will be in the Long Beach, CA area.
  • Project Title: Increasing Underrepresented Minority Participation in the Fresno Math Circle Program
  • Project Director: Maria Nogin
  • Project Summary: The Fresno Math Circle (FMC) is a well-established enrichment program at California State University, Fresno, attracting elementary, middle, and high school students, who are interested in mathematics and eager to learn more. The program's mission is to provide local children with a friendly environment that fosters learning beautiful mathematical theories beyond the regular school curriculum and developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The purpose of this project is to attract talented and mathematically motivated underrepresented minority students into the FMC program that including bi-weekly math circle meetings as well as Math Kangaroo, AMC 8, AMC 10/12, and AIME competitions and preparation sessions for these. In addition, teams of credentialed students and Teaching Scholars will be sent out to conduct engaging mathematical presentations and enhancement activities at local schools with a high percentage of minority students. Students at those schools will be encouraged to apply to the FMC program while teachers will be invited to observe on-campus activities and will be encouraged and mentored to start their own school-site Math Circle/Math Club building a local network for nurturing talent.
  • Project Title: PRIME Performing Research Increases Mathematical Empowerment
  • Project Director: Vinodh Chellamuthu
  • Project Summary: The PRIME (Performing Research Increases Mathematical Empowerment) program is a year-long research and mentoring program to increase retention rates among underrepresented minority students by engaging them in interdisciplinary research projects coming directly from business, industry, or government agencies. PRIME scholars will participate in the "PRIME Talk Series" presented by successful mathematicians from an underrepresented minority population. PRIME scholars will help plan and execute a summer camp in mathematical modeling and act as mentors and facilitators to high school students.
  • Project Title: Navajo Nation Math Circles Project
  • Project Director: David Auckly
  • Project Summary: The goal of this current project is to replicate the Math Camp East with a sustainable camp that may be accessed by students from the western agencies of the Navajo Nation. In order to accomplish our goal, there are a number of concrete objectives that we must meet. Keeping an enthusiastic team of individuals together has to be the first objective. A group of committed people from the community working with all of the support needed is the first ingredient to a successful long-term program. Anna, Kay, Shannon, and Jessica are all very enthusiastic about this program. A successful launch that makes an obvious contribution to the community is a wonderful way to motivate such a group to keep collaborating. The second objective is to let the community know about the program. This requires spreading the word to teachers and students. Classroom visits, phone calls, e-mails, text messages, announcements at chapter houses and word-of-mouth are all required for recruiting. We are very optimistic about recruiting due to this committed team of locals that contacted us for help launching this camp. Raising funds is a third important objective. We have always worked to manage the fundraising for the project outside of the community. People in the community face many challenges and removing the hurdle of fundraising makes it easier for the local leaders to concentrate on grass-roots program development without facing new tasks.
  • Project Title: Citytech Summer Math Camps
  • Project Director: Nadia Kennedy
  • Project Summary: The proposed Citytech Summer Math Camps is a project of the Department of Mathematics at the New York City College of Technology (Citytech) of the City University of New York. It has multiple purposes: 1) to organize two weeks of enrichment math summer camps for high school students from the nearby Brooklyn high-needs public high schools, and 2) to provide prospective mathematics teachers from the Undergraduate Mathematics Education program in the Mathematics department an opportunity to participate in planning and facilitating activities for the math camps for diverse and under-represented high school students in Brooklyn (NY) School Districts 13 and 17. The project design includes the organization of the two weeks of math camps for high-needs high school students, and the collective planning of camp activities by the co-directors and the mathematics education students, who will serve as camp coaches. The math camps will offer activities for two groups of students—incoming Algebra 2 students and incoming AP Calculus students. They will provide rich and intensive math experiences for the students, featuring activities that challenge and arouse curiosity, foster mathematical thinking, extend knowledge of mathematics, and help students appreciate their applications in the real world. The program is designed to help them prepare for taking an Algebra 2 and an AP Calculus class next school year. This will be accomplished by creating a learning environment that focuses on inquiry, mathematical reasoning, and collaborative group work.
  • Project Title: Northwestern Emerging Scholars Program
  • Project Directors: Shuyi Weng
  • Project Summary: The Northwestern Emerging Scholars Program (NESP) is focused on building a community of practice and increasing the inclusion of students from underrepresented minorities, women, and first-generation students in the Northwestern mathematics program. On the week-to-week level this is accomplished through collaborative, nonjudgmental, active- learning problem sessions (6-8 meetings per quarter offered), where undergraduate students explore advanced mathematical concepts rarely encountered in their first two years of coursework. Additionally, we program a variety of social events, including teas, dinners, and an end-of-year banquet with invited speaker, where current and former NESP participants can strengthen and expand connections with students (both undergraduate and graduate) and faculty. Lastly, the leadership of NESP represents a broad vertical cross section of the Department of Mathematics, including third- and fourth-year undergraduate peer leaders, graduate students, postdocs, and permanent faculty. This gives NESP participants a powerful opportunity to establish mentoring relationships at multiple levels in our mathematics community. These three components of NESP (problem sessions, social events, mentoring and advocacy) will help build a strong and diverse community of mathematics students, and this will in turn strengthen our mathematics program by making it more inviting to students from historically underrepresented groups.
  • Project Title: The Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at University of Guam (UOG)
  • Project Director: Hyunju Oh
  • Project Summary: The Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at University of Guam (UOG) program will recruit six enthusiastic and talented math students from eleventh and twelfth grades to participate in research experiences in mathematical thought and effort during summer 2022. The students will be from the underrepresented minority groups in Guam. The YSREM program will combine National Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (NREUP) at UOG, if we are awarded the 2022 NREUP, which will run concurrently as a single program. UOG’s six undergraduate research students in NREUP will serve as one-on-one mentors and work as a collaborators in the team research projects (Game Theory and Coding Theory) under their faculty mentors for seven weeks. YSREM will offer gifted teens in the Guam area: an opportunity to explore mathematics that is not generally taught in schools, role models, intellectual challenge, true peers, and the confidence to dream bigger dreams.
  • Project Title: Indigenous Mathematicians
  • Project Director: Kamuela Yong
  • Project Summary: The goal of Indigenous Mathematicians is to create a community where Indigenous people who work in the field of mathematics can come together to encourage the pursuit of mathematics and provide a supportive community for mentoring Indigenous people interested in entering the field of mathematics. It also serves as an inspiration for up-and- coming mathematicians who can see themselves represented in the mathematical community and be inspired to continue their education and further their careers. Finally, Indigenous Mathematicians will educate the mathematical community about the work and stories of their Indigenous peers in mathematics as well as the rich, varied cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples in general.
  • Project Title: People Reaching Intuition in Mathematicians for Empowerment Program (PRIME)
  • Project Director: Alexis Byers
  • Project Summary:The People Reaching Intuition in Mathematics for Empowerment Program (PRIME) is an after-school program that gives interested high school students from Youngstown City Schools the opportunity to participate in mathematical activities and experiment with mathematical research. PRIME’s main goal is to inspire scholars, PRIME Scholars or PRIMES, to pursue education after high school in STEM areas and to give them the confidence, enjoyment, and tools to be able to fulfill their mathematics requirements to get that degree. PRIMES conduct mathematical research in applied and/or pure mathematics with their peers under the guidance of Youngstown State University faculty members over the course of the academic year and then present their progress to their teachers and families at a celebration at the end of the program. Additionally, PRIMES participates in active mathematics seminars to introduce new mathematics to PRIMES as well as show different career options for mathematicians. Further support of PRIMES is provided in the way of regular mentoring sessions with first generation undergraduate students of color at YSU through an established program called Achieve Impact Motivate (AIM). AIM mentors will give on-going college readiness support to improve high school students' knowledge of college options and chances of college success.

 

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2021

  • Project Title: MATCH: Virtual Classroom Visits by Mathematicians
  • Project Director: Javier Haro
  • Project Summary: MATCH will pair mathematicians interested in K-12 outreach with middle school classrooms serving (primarily) students historically underrepresented in mathematics via recurring “virtual classroom visits.” By collaborating with networks of minority mathematicians, the program will prioritize recruiting mathematicians from historically underrepresented groups. After participating in a professional development training workshop, each mathematician will be matched with a middle school class at a Title I school with a high proportion of minority students that they will visit virtually three times during the 2021-2022 school year. During each visit, the mathematicians will present a highly engaging, “Math Circle” style activity, and will also have the opportunity to talk about their experience as a mathematician. By increasing access to fun and creative math activities and positive mathematics role models, the project aims to improve underrepresented students’ attitudes toward mathematics, belief in their own mathematical ability, and their overall likelihood of pursuing a career in mathematics.
  • Project Title: Mathematically Gifted and Black
  • Project Director: Erica Graham
  • Project Summary: The Mathematically Gifted and Black website is critical for the field of mathematics, a field that has predominantly been a white-centered space. Mathematically Gifted and Black challenges that narrative by centering and uplifting Black mathematicians at all career stages. Mathematically Gifted and Black provides a resource for the discipline of mathematics in several ways. In a field founded in a culture of exclusion, the website creates a more expansive view of the mathematical community. With an expanding list of honorees, the site provides a list of potential invitees for initiatives seeking to center the work of Black mathematicians. The site also provides K-12 students, especially Black students, with exposure to mathematical trajectories through an underseen lens. Finally, the website provides a wide variety of resources for the community.
  • Project Title: Research for Undergraduates on the Mathematics of the Bay Area (RUMBA)
  • Project Director: Andrea Arauza Rivera
  • Project Summary: The Cal State East Bay Research for Undergraduates on the Mathematics of the Bay Area (RUMBA) program consists of collaborative research projects which unite the skills of students (undergraduate and graduate), faculty, and Bay Area groups. Together, teams use mathematics to study the cultural, political and social systems in the Bay Area. RUMBA aims to provide culturally relevant research experiences to early career STEM majors so that they may develop a strong identity as mathematical scholars.
  • Project Title: THEOREMS
  • Project Director: Matthew Jones
  • Project Summary: THEOREMS is a multi-layered project at California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) involving an undergraduate math circle, a capstone for mathematics education majors, and a mathematical experience for middle school students. Undergraduates from across the university are recruited to participate in a series of sessions featuring mathematics in contexts that are accessible to students and including topics that are outside the typical curriculum, thereby creating a support network amongst undergraduates curious about mathematics. Then, advanced mathematics education students participate in a capstone in which they have the opportunity to replicate their experience in the math circle by designing experiential lessons that they will then use at an event for middle school students. By design, the participants at all levels will include large numbers of students underrepresented in mathematics and in STEM more broadly, thereby creating a vertically integrated network of mentoring among undergraduates, middle school students, their teachers, and CSUDH faculty.
  • Project Title: The Hesabu Circle
  • Project Director: Kagba Suaray
  • Project Summary: The purpose of the project is to support Afrocentric mathematical fluency in Black students and families, with the goal of increasing the number of Black K-12 students that are prepared and competitive for admission to university, and that graduate with degrees in mathematics and statistics. The Hesabu Circle is a space (virtual & in-person) Black students of all ages can enter to receive affirmation of their ability and identity as doers of mathematics. The program utilizes a near peer cascading virtual (fall 2021) & in person (spring 2022) mentorship/academic support model to train college and high school students on how to communicate mathematics as mentor/tutors. Monthly culturally relevant mathematical explorations, as well as a yearlong project and assistance with resources for learning mathematics will provided. Black PhD mathematicians, statisticians, and math educators will serve as project co-PI’s and mentor/trainers. The practical focus for in-person services will be in the Long Beach, CA area.
  • Project Title: PILOTS in Math: Preparing Instructors in Learning Online Teaching, Technologies & Social Justice for Math
  • Project Director: Bridget Druken
  • Project Summary: PILOTS for Math (Prepare Instructors in Learning Online Teaching, Technologies, and Social Justice for Math) aims to train undergraduate pre-service teachers of math (elementary, middle, and high school) instructors -- especially those from underrepresented groups in mathematics -- to learn, develop, pilot, and revise math activities using online teaching, technologies, and social justice concepts for teaching culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse K-12 students. This important work builds from CSUF’s mission of striving for justice, equity, and inclusion with transparency and accountability for improving our campus climate. PILOTS for Math will support a community of four future teachers of mathematics preparing for their credential programs, the workforce, and subsequently contribute to recruiting and sustaining underrepresented students in the math education and STEM pipeline.
  • Project Title: Saturday Math Gymnasium
  • Project Directors: Sayonita Ghosh-Hajra
  • Project Summary: Saturday Math Gymnasium is a year-long enrichment program in Mathematics for high school students. The program will be three-hour monthly meeting that aims to provide a thinking-out-of-the-box experience for 50 high school students, their teachers, Sacramento State mathematics faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students to collaborate on engaging hands-on mathematics activities. Saturday Math Gymnasium seeks to give students who are historically underrepresented groups in mathematics a window in STEM higher education and an opportunity to experience the joy and applicability of mathematics in the real-world.
  • Project Title: (CS)^3 - The Chelby Slappy Clayton State Cubing Society
  • Project Director: David Plaxco
  • Project Summary: The Chelby Slappy Clayton State Cubing Society ((CS)3, pronounced "CS Cubed") is an effort to engage undergraduate students at Clayton State University in socially-situated, novel, informal problem solving with twisty cube puzzles like the Rubik's cube. Named in honor of Chelby Slappy, a current Clayton State mathematics major completing a project investigating the mathematics of the Rubik's Cube, (CS)3 will establish a community of twisty puzzle enthusiasts (cubers) at Clayton State to meet twice a month to discuss cubing and its various mathematical connections. (CS)3 will recruit new cubers to join the group with cubing starter packs, which will include several puzzles and accessories as well as resources for learning to solve the puzzles. Additionally, (CS)3 will establish a permanent twisty puzzle library to remain a resource for Clayton State students, providing longitudinal support for (CS)3 Research shows that engaging students in informal problem solving scenarios, such as games and puzzles, bolsters student affect in STEM disciplines. Accordingly, the overarching goal of (CS)3 is to increase interest in STEM, specifically mathematics, at Clayton State University (a Title III public university).
  • Project Title: Haynes Scholars: A Diverse Residential Learning Community for Math Success in STEM
  • Project Directors: Elizabeth Arnold, Laura Taalman
  • Project Summary: Haynes Scholars is a program centered around a residential learning community for 16 incoming first-year African-American, Native American, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander students at James Madison University who want to live and learn in a supportive community of STEM majors. Haynes students will take their first year Calculus classes in cohorts. They will also take a year-long course sequence covering mathematical foundations and undergraduate research. Students will learn mathematical skills for success in STEM, explore mathematics in creative group research projects culminating in a presentation of their work. The Haynes Scholars will take leadership roles in organizing the Haynes Seminar, which will feature both local hidden figures in STEM and researchers from across the country, bringing a more diverse representation of scholars to this primarily white institution.
  • Project Title: MMOSH (Mathematically Making Our Stories Heard)
  • Project Directors: Francesca Gandini
  • Project Summary: In this project our students will uncover their experiences of resilience in mathematics and share their stories with the campus. By reading the book “Living Proof: Stories of Resilience Along the Mathematical Journey” and meeting some of the authors from the book, the participants will learn new mathematical ideas and meet the amazing mathematicians that study them. The connections between our students’ experiences, the authors, the math they study, their careers, and their community will stimulate reflection, inspire persistence in mathematics, and help the students generate their own Living Proof stories. In our final MMOSH (Mathematically Making Our Stories Heard) event, the students will share their stories with the campus and local community. The students’ stories of resilience, experience, and identity are of great value to the liberal arts focus of Kalamazoo College where we strive to connect students, faculty, and the local community across disciplines.
  • Project Title: SF Math Circle Collaborative Learning Community (MCCLC)
  • Project Director: Kimberly Seashore
  • Project Summary: The San Francisco Math Circle, based at San Francisco State University, will partner with middle school math teachers at Willie Brown Middle School in San Francisco Unified School District to pilot an after-school Math Circle enrichment program and collaborative professional learning community focused on mathematical thinking and critical reasoning. This program, the San Francisco Math Circle Collaborative Learning Community, will provide students who are traditionally underrepresented in mathematics with an opportunity to engage in exploratory and creative mathematical problem solving in a fun and low-stakes environment, while also serving as a laboratory for middle school teachers and SFMC instructors to share expertise. This pilot is intended to facilitate sharing and refining of instructional practices for both groups of instructors and establish a partnership that will allow Math Circles to serve a more diverse group of students.
  • Project Title: Mathematicians of Color Alliance at Texas (MoCAT)
  • Project Director: David Ben-Zvi
  • Project Summary: The Mathematicians of Color Alliance of Texas (MoCAT) is a student-run organization at The University of Texas at Austin open to anyone interested in promoting the mathematical development and achievements of underrepresented groups. MoCAT's goal is to create a community of undergraduate and graduate math students of color through social events, expository and research-level talks, mentoring, and tutoring in order to recruit, retain, support, and empower underrepresented students within the field of math. MoCAT has also launched initiatives within the university system such as the Distinguished Mathematicians of Color lecture series (which highlights the work and achievements of people of color in mathematics research) and the Existence and Uniqueness Book Club (which focuses on diversity, inclusion, and identity in mathematics). Through these activities and initiatives, MoCAT ultimately aims to increase the number of students of color receiving Bachelor’s degrees in mathematics, increase the number of students of color enrolled in graduate programs in mathematics, and decrease attrition rates in mathematics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
  • Project Title: Indigenous Mathematicians
  • Project Director: Kamuela Yong
  • Project Summary: Indigenous Mathematicians is a community where Indigenous people can come together to encourage the pursuit of mathematics and provide a supportive community for mentoring. It also serves as an inspiration for up-and-coming mathematicians who can see themselves represented and be inspired to continue their education and further their careers. Finally, Indigenous Mathematicians will educate the mathematical community about the work and stories of their Indigenous peers as well as the rich, varied cultures and histories of Indigenous peoples in general. This community is centered around the website indigenousmathematicians.org which was launched in December 2020 and will feature podcast interviews as well as articles authored by members of our community.
  • Project Title: MathWonder
  • Project Director: Perla Myers
  • Project Summary: Over the course of a year, project MathWonder will engage BIPOC college students in the exploration of mathematical concepts and practices to develop hands-on, inquiry-based mathematics experiences for BIPOC high school students at the University of San Diego. The college students and the high school students will then work together to organize a MathWonder event for middle school students and their families, where they will implement the explorations together. The college students will reflect on their mathematics exploration, creation and implementation experiences and will create a product (a children's book, a resource for teachers, a chapter for a book, a conference presentation, etc.) to share their work.
  • Project Title: People Reaching Intuition in Mathematics for Empowerment (PRIME)
  • Project Directors: Alexis Byers
  • Project Summary: The People Reaching Intuition in Mathematics for Empowerment Program (PRIME) is an after-school program that gives interested high school students from Youngstown City Schools the opportunity to participate in mathematical activities and experiment with mathematical research. PRIME’s main goal is to inspire scholars, PRIME Scholars or PRIMES, to pursue education after high school in STEM areas and to give them the confidence, enjoyment, and tools to be able to fulfill their mathematics requirements to get that degree. PRIMES conduct mathematical research in applied and/or pure mathematics with their peers under the guidance of Youngstown State University faculty members over the course of the academic year and then present their progress to their teachers and families at a celebration at the end of the program. Additionally, PRIMES participate in active mathematics seminars to introduce new mathematics to PRIMES as well as show different career options for mathematicians. Further support of PRIMES is provided in the way of regular mentoring sessions with first generation undergraduate students of color at YSU through an established program called Achieve Impact Motivate (AIM). AIM mentors will give on-going college readiness support to improve high school students' knowledge of college options and chances of college success.

 

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2020

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 awardees were given the option to defer their funding until 2021. Those awardees are indicated with a *.

  • Project Title: Research for Undergraduates on the Mathematics of the Bay Area (RUMBA)
  • Project Director: Andrea Arauza Rivera
  • Project Summary: The Cal State East Bay Research for Undergraduates on the Mathematics of the Bay Area (RUMBA) program consists of collaborative research projects which unite the skills of students (undergraduate and graduate), faculty, and Bay Area groups, so that they may use mathematics to study the cultural, political and social systems in the Bay Area. RUMBA aims to provide culturally relevant research experiences to early career STEM majors so that they may develop a strong identity as scholars and citizens of the world.
  • Project Title: Círculo de Matemáticas en Español
  • Project Director: Brandy Wiegers
  • Project Summary: Círculo de Matemáticas en Español, a Spanish-language extension of the Kittitas Valley Math Circle for local middle-school students, was established in 2018 with the support of MAA Tensor-SUMMA (https://www.cwu.edu/math/KVMC-Espanol). The program builds on two years of experience establishing our community program and brings a new aspect in 2020-2021 where, with Tensor-SUMMA support, we will be sharing lesson plans with a broader network of Math Circle programs that share our goals. These lesson plans will be shared in Summer 2020 with training of the materials happening via Zoom or other conference sessions. Ana Garcia is especially interested in using our materials as she graduates and heads into the classroom. Beyond this, the 2020-2021 MAA support will help us capture the Círculo program in a Journal of Math Circles Outreach Program article. Ana is working with Dr. Klyve on this work and we look forward to the submission capturing the work we’ve done with Spanish-speaking CWU undergraduates to work with Spanish-speaking middle school students to solve mathematical puzzles and play mathematical games. In total, the proposed project met all the goals of active mathematical engagement requested in the TENSOR SUMMA RFP, and with your continued support, we believe we will be able to record and disseminate this novel mathematical model to allow for replication.
  • Project Title: Heritage Math Camp and Indigenous Math Circles
  • Project Director: David Auckly
  • Project Summary: Check back in 2021 for more information about this project!
  • Project Title: Mathematical Modeling at Mercy College, M3C
  • Project Director: Nagaraj Rao
  • Project Summary: Mathematical Modeling at Mercy College (HELP-M3C) is a four-week mathematical modeling enrichment program for regional high school minority students that is offered as part of our three-year project, “Help, Excite, Lead, Perform in STEM (HELP),” funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Minority Science & Engineering Improvement Program. This summer program offers 25 talented high school minority students, at least 50% of whom are minority women, a program that teaches how mathematical modeling applications can be used to solve real-world problems. Working in groups, young scholars will solve problems by conducting experiments, collecting data, fitting curves to data, identifying appropriate functions, and writing reports; each group will be mentored by a teaching assistant. Program activities will include field trips to area research centers to meet with researchers doing cutting-edge research in STEM fields; hosting invited speakers on campus; and holding a closing event for students, parents, teachers, and project staff for project presentations and to recognize students’ accomplishments. The goal of this program is to help overcome the historical underrepresentation of minority students, particularly female minority students, in the fields of mathematics and science. The HELP-M3C program will give minority students real-world knowledge and opportunities to envision themselves in a variety of STEM careers.
  • Project Title: CITYTECH MATH FRIDAY PROGRAMS
  • Project Director: Nadia Kennedy
  • Project Summary: CITYTECH FRIDAY MATH PROGRAMS is a project of the Department of Mathematics at the New York City College of Technology (Citytech) of the City University of New York. It has multiple purposes: 1) to organize a Citytech May Math Day in the first week of May with various hands-on mathematical activities and puzzles for middle and high school students from the nearby Brooklyn high-needs public middle and high schools; 2) to organize 6 weeks of enrichment math programs for middle and high school students from these schools; and c) to provide mathematics prospective teachers from the Undergraduate Mathematics Education program in the department an opportunity to participate in additional teacher training by working with math enrichment programs for a diverse and under-represented population of middle and high school students in the Brooklyn (NY) School Districts during the months of May and June. The project design includes training for the prospective teachers and two types of six weeks of enrichment math programs for high-needs middle and high school students. The program for middle school students will provide rich and intensive math experiences for the students, featuring activities that challenge mathematical thinking, extend knowledge of mathematics, arouse curiosity toward mathematics, and help students appreciate their applications in the real world. The program for high school students is designed for high school students eligible to take AP Calculus, and will help them prepare for taking an AP Calculus class next school year. This will be accomplished by creating a learning environment that focuses on inquiry, mathematical reasoning, and collaborative group work.
  • Project Title: AIMC Four Corners Summer Math Camp
  • Project Director: Robert Klein
  • Project Summary:

    The Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC) grows out of the Navajo Nation Math Circles project and brings more than six years of experience with that project to a new effort to apply the NNMC model to expand the reach of math circles beyond the NNMC boundaries. Tensor-SUMMA support will help fund a fourth year of a residential math camp for Indigenous students in grades 6-12. In previous years, mathematicians from San Jose State University, Navajo Technical University, Grand Valley State University, and Riverbend Community Center facilitated vibrant math circle sessions with the students. Tribal elders and Navajo Preparatory School teaching staff led cultural sessions and organized physical activities to make the experience relevant, meaningful, and fun.

    This program operates under the philosophy that you cannot change the way someone thinks about themselves as a doer of mathematics if you don't simultaneously celebrate the cultural traits that have marked them historically as outsiders to mathematics. If, for instance, society has convinced you that Hopis can't be mathematicians, a math camp doesn't stand much chance of sustainable, meaningful change. By partnering with tribal elders to integrate cultural activities, we help students to see themselves as, Hopi Mathematicians, Navajo Mathematicians, etc. More at https://aimathcircles.org/.

  • Project Title: Beyond The Curriculum: 8th Grade Mathematics Enrichment Program
  • Project Director: Salam Turki
  • Project Summary: Check back in 2021 for more information about this project!
  • Project Title: PREVIEWS TO CALCULUS: CROSSING THE BRIDGE TO SUCCESS IN STEM
  • Project Director: Elaine Terry
  • Project Summary: CALCULUS: Crossing the Bridge to Success in STEM is a four-week summer bridge program at Saint Joseph's University that is designed to equip first-year students with the tools necessary for success in a STEM major. Students attend workshop classes in three STEM subjects. The mathematics class serves as the foundational course of the program. Using a workshop style approach, students are introduced to calculus early concepts such as the limit and the derivative. They are encouraged to read, write and discuss the underlying concepts of a first-year calculus course by working on worksheets from Previews to Calculus: A Workbook.
  • Project Title: Mathematical Confluences - A Partnership between Temple University and the Philadelphia High School for Girls
  • Project Directors: Irina Mitrea, Maria E. Lorenz, Catherine J. Michini
  • Project Summary: The partnership between Temple University's Department of Mathematics and the Philadelphia High School for Girls is in its third year of MAA SUMMA support. Plans for the 2020-2021 academic year include the Fall Bootcamp, a week of afternoon mathematical activities that serves as a refresher for the students on the material covered in their previous courses, biweekly tutoring during the Fall and Spring semesters, selective student research experiences in the summer for the most motivated participants, and an array of professional development activities aimed at building mentoring bridges between the high school students and the undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics at Temple University.
  • Project Title: Advanced Mathematics Program
  • Project Directors: Po-Ning Chen, Daniel Collister, Savanna Gail Gee
  • Project Summary: The Advanced Mathematics Program is a supportive summer program for students considering to major in mathematics. The program aims to create a learning environment for transitioning math majors, especially those who are female, underrepresented minorities, and from low-income backgrounds to increase diversity in graduate students and the career prospects of our undergraduate students. Participation in the summer program will prepare the students for the core curriculum of the math department. In addition to students from UCR, the summer program will be available to transfer students from the community colleges to the math department to help our incoming transfer students. The summer program, with its emphasis on underrepresented minorities, will undoubtedly contribute to UCR’s mission to diversity.
  • Project Title: The Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at University of Guam
  • Project Director: Hyunju Oh
  • Project Summary: The Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at University of Guam (UOG) program will recruit six enthusiastic and talented math students from eleventh and twelfth grades to participate in research experiences in mathematical thought and effort during summer 2021. The students will be from the underrepresented minority groups in Guam. The YSREM program will combine National Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (NREUP) at UOG, if we are awarded the 2020 NREUP, which will run concurrently as a single program. UOG’s six undergraduate research students in NREUP will serve as one-on-one mentors and work as a collaborators in the team research projects under their faculty mentors for seven weeks. YSREM will offer gifted teens in the Guam area: an opportunity to explore mathematics that is not generally taught in schools, role models, intellectual challenge, true peers, and the confidence to dream bigger dreams.
  • Project Title: Pomona's Rising Youth in Mathematics Empowerment
  • Project Director: Gail Tang
  • Project Summary: ased off of Young People’s Project, our project implements a near-peer instructional model that pioneers mathematics enrichment to Pomona Hope, a well-established after-school programming site that serves K- 12 students in Pomona. Pomona is still suffering from the effects of widespread poverty that is connected to decades of gang violence, as well as drug abuse, that leaves many young people in the city with very few options after high school. However, Pomona is surrounded by college campuses: Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) to the west, the University of La Verne (ULV) to the north, and the Claremont Colleges to the east. Our program brings together CPP and ULV’s Math programs to work together to provide young people with positive mathematics experiences through peer mentorship. This project is a pilot program for a potentially larger scale model where college students and high school students are compensated with scholarships and stipends for doing outreach work around mathematics literacy in Pomona. In the first year (2018-2019), the college students participated on a volunteer basis at Pomona Hope, while working part-time jobs. In the 2nd year (2019-2020), with MAA Tensor-SUMMA funding, our attendance has dramatically increased along with the quality of work. While the compensation is not enough to allow students to leave their part-time jobs, with continued funding we will be able to alleviate some of the pressure that it takes for these students to do volunteer work.
  • Project Title: Girls Talk Math: Recruiting Underrepresented Minority Mathematicians through a Non-Traditional Math Camp
  • Project Director: Hans Christianson
  • Project Summary: Check back in 2021 for more information about this project!
  • Project Title: WVU Emerging Scholars Program Summer Bridge
  • Project Director: Tim McEldowney
  • Project Summary: The West Virginia University Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) Summer Bridge 2021 will reduce time-to-degree for underrepresented STEM students that are matriculating through a pathway that includes Trigonometry and requires students to complete a sequence of two Calculus courses that infuses just-in-time Pre-calculus. The ESP Summer Bridge Program will build a pipeline into the longstanding ESP Calculus courses that focus on building a community of underrepresented STEM scholars through collaborative group learning. The ESP Summer Bridge will focus on building conceptual ideas underlying Calculus topics on limits, derivatives, functions, optimization, related rates, and area under a curve, and continue to strengthen students’ foundation mathematics skills in preparation for Calculus.
  • Project Title: Lathisms
  • Project Directors: Pamela Harris, Vanessa Rivera-Quiones, Alicia Prieto Langarica, Luis Sordo Vieira, Andres R. Vindas Melendez, Rosaura Uscanga
  • Project Summary: Lathisms (Latinxs and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences) is an organization that seeks to promote and feature the contributions of Latinx and Hispanic mathematicians. Our main tool is our website, Lathisms.org. Since 2016, during Hispanic Heritage Month, Lathisms.org has featured one mathematician per day including a short biography of each mathematician and details of their contributions to the mathematical sciences. New in 2018 was the inclusion of podcast interviews and in 2019 we provided access to downloadable posters of each Lathisms Honoree. In 2020, we are working on a new book of Testimonios consisting of personal stories of Latinxs and Hispanics mathematicians.

 

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2019

  • Project Title: A Multi-Tiered Approach to Mathematics Enrichment 
  • Project Directors: Robin Wilson
  • Project Summary: This project is implementing a near peer instructional model to bring for the first time a mathematics enrichment component to Pomona Hope, a well-established after school programming site that serves K- 12 students in the Pomona Community. The city of Pomona is still suffering from the effects of widespread poverty that is connected to decades of gang violence, as well as drug abuse, and many young people in the city have very few options after high school. However, the city of Pomona is surrounded by college campuses with Cal Poly Pomona to the west, the University of La Verne to the north, and the Claremont Colleges to the east. Our program brings together two of these Universities' Mathematics Departments that are working together to wrap their arms around the young people in this city and provide them with a positive mathematics experience through peer mentorship. This project is a pilot program for a potentially much larger scale model, where college students and high school students are compensated with scholarships and stipends for doing outreach work around mathematics literacy in the Pomona Community. Currently all of the college students that are volunteering in the 2018-2019 program at Pomona Hope work part-time jobs. While the compensation we are providing for doing this work is not enough to allow students to leave a part time job, with the funding we will be able to alleviate some of the pressure that it takes for these students to do volunteer work.
  • Project Title: GirlsDoMath Summer Camp
  • Project Title: Círculo de Matemáticas en Español/ Spanish Language Math Circle
  • Project Director: Dominic Klyve 
  • Project Summary: In the last year, we have worked to establish the new Spanish-language extension of the Kittitas Valley Math Circle for local middle-school students (Círculo de Matemáticas en Español). The program built on lessons we have learned in establishing the existing elementary Math Circle in our community, as well as the work of other outreach programs across the country. During the Math Circle sessions, participating youth have worked in teams guided by Spanish-speaking CWU undergraduates to solve mathematical puzzles and play mathematical games. Through these activities, the students learned about advanced mathematical topics; enjoyed the companionship of other young students who enjoy math; learned new mathematical vocabulary in Spanish; and grew under the guidance of undergraduate mentors. Fun activities led by Spanish-speaking undergraduate students expanded traditional notions around who can be great at mathematical thinking and problem-solving. In total, the proposed project met all the goals of active mathematical engagement requested in the TENSOR SUMMA RFP, and with your continued support, we believe we will be able to record and disseminate this novel mathematical model to allow for replication.
  • Project Title: Heritage Math Camp and Indigenous Math Circles
  • Project Director: David Auckly
  • Project Summary: This project will bring inspiring mathematical enrichment to Indigenous communities in Washington state. It is modeled on the successful Navajo Nation Math Circles project. It will reach communities in the Seattle area as well as people in the lower Yakima valley. Like the program it is modeled on it has six coordinated components: a mathematical visitor program, a math festival program, and a summer camp for students, teacher workshops, a summer teacher immersion, and teacher mentoring. The emphasis of this proposal is on the summer camp.
  • Project Title: Lamar University STEM Students of Color Alliance
  • Project Director: Jacqueline Jensen-Vallin 
  • Project Summary: The Lamar University STEM Students of Color Alliance seeks to increase retention and graduation among students of color in STEM fields by: (1) providing role models who are professionals in STEM careers, and (2) providing community to promote and support these students throughout their time at Lamar. While we have previously focused on providing academic role models, this next year will focus on local mentoring and community development and support.
  • Project Title: SLIMES: Spotted Lanternfly Investigated through Mathematical and Environmental Sciences
  • Project Directors: Eugene Fiorini
  • Project Summary: This program is a ten-day environmental science research project together with an academic-year mentoring component for high school students in collaboration with Lehigh Valley school districts and other social service organizations. The project aims to teach high school students from minority and other underrepresented groups the research and mathematical skills to become the next generation of scientists, employing a multidisciplinary, collaborative application of mathematics to investigate an urgent new environmental problem: the impact of the invasive spotted lanternfly on the Lehigh Valley ecology. This program will encourage cooperative learning and discuss real-life applications with openended questions to actively engage the students. For the first day of the program, students will participate in orientation activities, introducing laboratory and field research techniques. For the remainder of the program, students will use mathematical, statistical, and scientific methods to analyze and model spotted lanternfly behavior. The final day of the program, students will present their results to parents, faculty, and administrators. Throughout the following academic year, students will be mentored in after-school activities and advised on higher education and career opportunities in the mathematical sciences.
  • Project Title: Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles Summer Camps
  • Project Directors: Robert Klein 
  • Project Summary: The Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC) brings more than seven years of experience running math circles in indigenous communities. This past year, we successfully held our second residential math circles camp for kids in grades 7-12. We had more than 45 applications for 35 spots and welcomed students from Navajo, Hopi, and Apache tribes. This program operates under the philosophy that you cannot change the way someone thinks about themselves as a doer of mathematics without celebrating the cultural traits that have marked them historically as outsiders to mathematics. If, for instance, you believe that Hopis can't be mathematicians, a math camp doesn't stand much chance of sustainable, meaningful change. By integrating cultural activities, we help students to see themselves as, Hopi mathematicians or similar.
  • Project Title: Beyond the Curriculum: 8th Grade Mathematics Enrichment Program
  • Project Directors: Salam Turki 
  • Project Summary: This is a semester-long enrichment program in Mathematics for eight graders that will be held in the fall of 2019. The program will be an after-school program in collaboration with Nathanael Greene Middle School in Providence, RI. This is a school with a student population who is 90% ethnically diverse and 84% of students qualifying for subsidized lunch. The program's curriculum is designed to provide interactive experiences for the students. The activities are designed to require no prior knowledge of mathematics and to give each student similar ease of access to the material. In their 2016 paper `` Raising Interest in STEM Education (RISE)”, the authors argue that the number of underrepresented minorities mismatches the demographics of the U.S. With that in mind, the main objectives of our program are to enhance recruitment, engagement and retention of underrepresented minority students in STEM education and careers by heightening awareness of future career possibilities, strengthening problem solving skills, focusing to refine attitudes towards mathematical literacy and most importantly displaying that mathematics can be fun and challenging without being scary.
  • Project Title: Previews to Calculus: Crossing the Bridge to Success in Stem
  • Project Director: Elaine Terry
  • Project Summary:The CALCULUS: Crossing the Bridge to Success in STEM program is an invitation-only summer bridge program at Saint Joseph's University. As a non-residential program it will provide incoming underrepresented freshmen with the tools and resources that are beneficial for their first year in college, specifically as a student in a STEM major (i.e. natural sciences, mathematics, computer science). Twelve to sixteen students will be given the opportunity to participate in the program. The foundation course of the program will be the mathematics class which will meet every day of the six-week program. The mathematics course will introduce topics from precalculus and an introduction to limits, tangent lines, and areas below graphs that will help students to understand concepts that are necessary for successfully completing a one semester calculus course at the University Additionally, the program will include three workshops that will introduce students to the rigorous course expectations of the Saint Joseph's University STEM curriculum. Two workshops, one that focuses on biology and the other on chemistry, will each be taught by a University professor. A third workshop will be conducted by a University administrator who has extensive experience working with underrepresented student populations during the summer months. She will work with students to expose them to University academic resources STEM students.
  • Project Title: Mathematical Confluences - a partnership between Temple University and the Philadelphia High School for Girls
  • Project Director: Irina Mitrea
  • Project Summary: The project is a continuation of the MAA Tensor-SUMMA sponsored partnership between the Department of Mathematics at Temple University and the Philadelphia High School for Girls. Our efforts are focused on encouraging students of minority backgrounds to continue their study of mathematics, to assist them with the sometimes difficult transition between high school and college mathematics, to assist high school mathematics teachers in providing their students a well-rounded set of professional opportunities centered around mathematics. A short relevant background of the relationship between these institutions is as follows. The Philadelphia High School for Girls has a one hundred sixty-six year history as a public, college preparatory school whose heritage is founded in tradition, for academically talented young women drawn from the diversity of the city of Philadelphia. The High School maintains a rich and rigorous academic program, which includes Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses. The Department of Mathematics at Temple University has been involved in joint mathematical outreach activities with the Philadelphia High School for Girls since the Fall of 2017 and the project is focused on continuing to offer a set of coherent and inspiring mathematical outreach activities in collaboration with the high school for the benefit of the students involved.
  • Project Title: Tennessee State University Early Research Experiences in Mathematics
  • Project Director: Wanda Payne
  • Project Summary: Students majoring in mathematics at Tennessee State University must complete a senior project as a part of their graduation requirements. As a result, during the fall semester of their senior year, these students enroll in a senior project course. Often these students have not been introduced to any meaningful mathematics research prior to taking this course. Implementing a grant project in which students get to conduct mathematics research earlier in their college careers has the potential to (i) provide students with early exposure to research practices, (ii) help to prepare students for more competitive undergraduate research experiences, and (iii) help to prepare students for graduate studies and industry careers. One area of mathematics that is used extensively in many research fields is graph theory. Students will be introduced to graph theory and some of its applications in order to conduct their research.
  • Project Title: Advanced Mathematics Program
  • Project Director: Po-Ning Chen
  • Project Summary: The Advanced Mathematics Program is a summer supportive program for students considering to major in mathematics. The program aims to create a learning environment for transitioning math majors especially those who are female, underrepresented minorities, and from low-income backgrounds in order to increase diversity in graduate students and the career prospects of our undergraduate students. Participation in the summer program will prepare the students for the core curriculum of the math department. In addition to students from UCR, the summer program will be available to transfer students from the community colleges to the math department to help our incoming transfer students. The summer program, with its emphasis on underrepresented minorities, will certainly contribute to UCR’s mission to diversity.
  • Project Title: Bearcat Math Circle Club
  • Project Directors: Christina Therkelsen
  • Project Summary: The Bearcat Math Circle is a weekly meeting of math faculty, undergraduate volunteers, and middle school students to work on a fun math problem.
  • Project Title: Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at UOG
  • Project Director: Hyunju Oh
  • Project Summary: The Young Scholars Research Experiences in Mathematics (YSREM) at University of Guam (UOG) program will recruit six enthusiastic and talented math students from eleventh and twelfth grades to participate in research experiences in mathematical thought and effort during summer 2019. The students will be from the underrepresented minority groups in Guam as described below. The YSREM program will combine National Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program (NREUP) at UOG, awarded by January 26 in 2019, which will run concurrently as a single program. UOG’s six undergraduate research students in NREUP will serve as one-on-one mentors and work as a collaborators in the team research projects under their faculty mentors for seven weeks. YSREM will offer gifted teens in the Guam area: an opportunity to explore mathematics that is not generally taught in schools, role models, intellectual challenge, true peers, and the confidence to dream bigger dreams.
  • Project Title: Girls Talk Math: Recruiting Underrepresented Minority Mathematicians through a Non-Traditional Math Camp
  • Project Director: Hans Christianson
  • Project Summary: "Girls Talk Math: Recruiting Underrepresented Minority Mathematicians through a Non-Traditional Math Camp" seeks to encourage girls who may not see themselves as good at mathematics to pursue further studies in the field. The proposed project is a free two-week summer day camp for high-school students who identify as female, with an emphasis on recruiting students from underrepresented groups. Camp is free for all attendees, and lunch will be provided for all campers. We plan to host 40 students. Participants will complete math problem sets, research the life of a female mathematician, write and record a podcast about the mathematician, and write a blog post describing the math problems they solve. Each podcast will be produced and recorded during the camp and will be available on iTunes and other free online platforms. The blog posts will be hosted on the camp website. A diverse group of female professionals in the Mathematical Sciences will speak on their experiences and research to connect participants to modern mathematics. By building a community of like-minded individuals, the program will create support for girls from underrepresented groups who are interested in mathematics. The goal of our program is to increase the girls' knowledge and build their confidence by having their voices heard, creating relationships with peers and mentors, and putting the students in contact with resources to help them as they continue exploring potential careers in mathematics.
  • Project Title: Lathisms
  • Project Director: Pamela Harris
  • Project Summary: Lathisms (Latinxs and Hispanics in the Mathematical Science) is an organization that seeks to promote and feature different Latinx or Hispanic mathematicians. Our main tool is our website, Lathisms.org. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, during Hispanic Heritage Month, Lathisms.org featured one mathematician per day including a short biography of each mathematician and details of their contributions to the mathematical sciences. New in 2018 was the inclusion of podcast interviews with some of the Lathisms honorees and this will continue in 2019.

 

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2018

  • Project Title: Research Experience in Mathematics for Young Scientists 
  • Project Directors: Liljana Babinkostova
  • Project Summary: The Research Experience in Mathematics for Young Scientists is an 8-week summer program for four talented high school students from the underrepresented or financially disadvantaged minority groups to experience research in mathematics and provide them with a high impact, intellectually and culturally rich vertically integrated experience. The program's overarching goal is to encourage and promote the flow of diverse high school students towards higher education and careers as mathematics researchers and teachers, by identifying, developing and preparing those with exceptional potential, and from underrepresented or financially disadvantaged groups. The students will be engaged in mathematics-based interdisciplinary research and the underlying scientific inspiration of the research is cryptography. The program offers the following rare enrichment features to the high school scholars that are selected for this program: (1) Communication and Vertical integration that brings together research mathematicians, graduate and undergraduate students, and high school students; (2) Partnership with the Idaho Space and Aeronautics Scholars (ISAS), a NASA funded program for high school students of Idaho State Department of Education.
  • Project Title: Kittitas Valley Spanish Language Math Circle
  • Project Director: Brandy Wiegers 
  • Project Summary: Our program leadership stands committed to establishing the new Spanish language extension of the Kittitas Valley Math Circle for local middle-school students. This program will build on lessons learned establishing the elementary program in this community as well as the work of other outreach programs across the country. During the Math Circle sessions, participating youth will work in teams guided by Spanish-speaking CWU undergraduates to solve mathematical puzzles and play mathematical games. Through these activities, the students will learn about advanced mathematical topics, enjoy the companionship of other young students who enjoy math, and grow under the guidance of undergraduate mentors. Having fun activities led by Spanish-speaking undergraduate students expands traditional notions around who can be great at mathematical thinking and problem solving. In total the proposed project meets all the goals of active mathematical engagement requested in the TENSOR SUMMA RFP and with your support we believe we will create a new mathematical engagement model that could be replicated.
  • Project Title: It's Rocket Math!
  • Project Director: Lucia Riderer
  • Project Summary: It's Rocket Math! is a structured mentoring program focused on hands-on rocketry-related math activities, designed to increase the number of students, including under-represented students, who have an interest in math and complete the prerequisites for transfer to a four-year university with majors in math-related fields. A secondary goal of the program is to increase middle school students' awareness of applications of math and their interest in math-related careers. The program expands participating college students' peer support system, particularly as related to academic success and career options in math-related disciplines, while giving them the opportunity to be mentors to middle school students. The proposed program is comprised of two parts. The first part is focused on peer mentoring and aims to provide Citrus students with a support network as they make the transition to upper level math-related courses. Students enrolled in lower division math courses are matched with student mentors enrolled in higher level math courses. The mentors and their mentees meet on a regular basis to solve challenging rocket-related math problems. The second component consists of college students developing and conducting outreach workshops for middle school students. The workshops are focused on math applications to rocketry. The project's evaluation measures changes in students' interest in math-related fields, their retention in math-related courses and transfer rates in those areas.
  • Project Title: PRIME: Pursuing Research in Mathematical Endeavors
  • Project Director: Roberto Soto 
  • Project Summary: Our project, PRIME (Pursuing Research in Mathematical Endeavors), aims to promote research among all undergraduates, especially those from underrepresented groups in mathematics, by providing early research experiences and a sense of community for the members of the PRIME Club. In particular, the PRIME Club envisions itself as providing a support network for underrepresented students doing research in the mathematical sciences. It will do so by inviting speakers from underrepresented groups to discuss their research and journey in becoming a professional mathematician. PRIME will also be a venue for members of the club to share their own research endeavors and will organize workshops that will provide information regarding other research opportunities, GRE preparation, graduate school, internships, and funding opportunities. Finally, the PRIME Club is eager to share what they have learned with the next generation of STEM majors by becoming involved in outreach efforts at local K-12 schools that serve underrepresented populations. In essence, PRIME hopes to open doors for underrepresented students that are searching for knowledge in how they can best employ their mathematical skills in our society.
  • Project Title: LU STEM Students of Color Alliance 
  • Project Director: Jacqueline Jensen-Vallin 
  • Project Summary: This project is the development and establishment of the Lamar University STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Students of Color Alliance. Lamar University has approximately 1900 students majoring in engineering fields, plus majors in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and other related fields. Campus-wide approximately 41% of LU students are from underrepresented groups (African-American, Hispanic, or multiracial). Research has shown that these students are especially in need of community support and mentors from similar racial and ethnic groups.
  • Project Title: Mathematical Modeling at Mercy College (M3C)
  • Project Directors
  • Project Summary: Our project, Access, Collaboration, and Engagement in STEM (ACES), is a three-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Education (USED) under the Minority Science & Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP) and developed by a faculty project team led by Dr. Nagaraj Rao. The grant is currently in its fourth and final year through an approved no-cost extension for completion of grant activities. Project goals include increasing the number of minority undergraduates who enroll in STEM degree programs and who persist to graduation and providing community outreach to promote STEM education and career opportunities. The project also provides outreach to high school students through a mathematical modeling summer program (ACES-M3C), which enables talented high school students to take part in projects that go beyond their high school curriculum by using mathematical modeling applications to solve real-world problems and is designed to motivate minority students, particularly minority women, to pursue careers in STEM fields.
  • Project Title: InForMMS+18: Investigating Forensics Mysteries through the Mathematical Sciences-Plus
  • Project Directors: Eugene Fiorini
  • Project Summary: This program is a five-day forensics analysis workshop for high school students in collaboration with the Allentown School District and Allen Police Department. The project aims to prepare high school students from underrepresented groups to become the next generation of mathematical scientists efficient in forensic analysis. This program will encourage cooperative learning and discuss real-life applications with open-ended questions to actively engage the students. The first four days of the workshop, students will participate in a series of activities introducing forensic techniques and analysis of evidence using mathematical, statistical, and scientific methods. Students will learn various forensic tasks designed to foster communication and teamwork. The final day of the workshop will be a staged crime scene set up by the workshop coordinators and the students will analyze collected evidence and present their results to parents, faculty, and officers.
  • Project Title: Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles Summer Camps
  • Project Directors: Robert Klein 
  • Project Summary: The Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles (AIMC) grows out of the Navajo Nation Math Circles project and brings more than six years of experience with that project to a new effort to apply the NNMC model to expand the reach of math circles beyond the NNMC boundaries. This past year, we inaugurated a residential math circles camp for kids in grades 7-12. We had more than 40 applications for 33 spots and welcomed students from Navajo, Hopi, and Apache tribes.
  • Project Title: Math Games in a Youth Sports League Setting to Enhance Mathematical Learning in Minority Students 
  • Project Directors: Greg Budzban 
  • Project Summary: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville proposes to transform STEM learning in the neighboring Alton school district by implementing a set of mathematical games originally developed by the Young People's Project (YPP) targeting upper elementary/middle school concepts from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). YPP has used mathematical games in informal settings and documented how they motivate low-performing students to participate and want to learn difficult mathematics concepts. The previous year’s grant has initiated the program successfully, and the renewal of this funding would allow us to continue and grow the program.
  • Project Title: Mathematical Confluences - a partnership between Temple University and the Philadelphia High School for Girls
  • Project Director: Irina Mitrea
  • Project Summary: This project focuses on establishing a replicable model of partnership between a Department of Mathematics at a higher education institution (Temple University) and a regional highs school (Philadelphia High School for Girls) focused on encouraging students of minority backgrounds to continue their study of mathematics, to assist them with the sometimes difficult transition between high school and college mathematics, to assist high school mathematics teachers in providing their students a well-rounded set of professional opportunities centered around mathematics.
  • Project Title: Advanced Mathematics Program
  • Project Director: Po-Ning Chen
  • Project Summary: The Advanced Mathematics Program is a summer supportive program for students considering to major in mathematics. The program aim at creating a learning environment for transitioning math majors especially those who are female, underrepresented minorities, and from low-income backgrounds in order to increase diversity in graduate students and the career prospects of our undergraduate students. Participation in the summer program will prepare the students for the core curriculum at the math department. In addition to students from UCR, the summer program will be available to transfer students from the community colleges to the math department to help our incoming transfer students. The summer program, with its emphasis on underrepresented minorities, will certainly contribute to UCR’s mission to diversity.
  • Project Title: Broadening participation to college and STEM careers through an inclusive middle school math circle program
  • Project Director: Alessandra Pantano
  • Project Summary: The UC Irvine Math CEO program is a novel informal learning environment to foster mathematical dispositions in Latino youth. Very few STEM afterschool programs targeting URM students focus on math enrichment; most programs are either concerned with science - rather than math specifically, or they are remedial in nature, because they focus on tutoring or ameliorating math deficits. Such programs may address specific math skill deficits, but they lack the ability to inspire youth to get excited about math and see its relevance to STEM careers. In contrast, UCI Math CEO strives to promote positive attitude towards STEM by engaging students in genuine mathematical experiences which promote skills building and higher level thinking, and by surrounding the students with positive STEM role models.
  • Project Title: Bearcat Math Circle Club
  • Project Directors: Christina Therkelsen
  • Project Summary: Bearcat Math Circle Club will consist of weekly meetings at a Cincinnati Public School. Two faculty members from the University of Cincinnati Department of Mathematical Sciences will lead these meetings for 7th and 8th grade students with undergraduate students joining the meetings as mentors. Our culminating meeting of the fall and spring semesters will be a day for the middle school students to explore the university campus and work together with UC faculty and students on a fun math circle activity over lunch. Bearcat Math Circle Club will work closely with a 7/8th grade math teacher at Western Hills to prepare activities that will be relevant and engage students who typically do not have access to extracurricular experiences with math. We will spend time offering help with homework or classwork and then lead activities that build on the content covered in class in a fun, open-ended way.
  • Project Title: Lathisms: Latin@s and Hispanics in the Mathematical Sciences
  • Project Director: Alexander Diaz-Lopez
  • Project Summary: Every year, between September 15 and October 15, the United States of America celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM). During this period of time, we celebrate the Hispanic culture and the great contributions of American residents of Hispanic descent. Lathisms, Latinos/as and Hispanics in the Mathematical Science, is an organization that seeks to promote and feature Latino/a and/or Hispanic mathematicians. Our main tool is our website, Lathisms.org. In 2016 and 2017, during HHM, we featured one mathematician per day. A short biography of each mathematician was presented as well as a write up of their contributions to the mathematical sciences. With the help of this grant, we can guarantee the existence of the Lathisms website for five years, showcase more Latino/a and/or Hispanic mathematicians in 2018, revamp and improve the site, add short podcasts with discussions about some of the featured mathematicians, and create a listserv to inform the community of opportunities relevant to Hispanic and/or Latino/a mathematicians.

 

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